US military welcomes Putin-Erdogan agreement on Idlib

19 Sep in 13:40

The U.S. military said it supported a plan to establish a demilitarized zone in northern Syria that would separate rebels in their last stronghold from advancing government forces.

"I'll tell you what, if this holds up and it can save lives and avoid the humanitarian disaster that it could have been, then we're definitely supporting that," said Col. Sean Ryan, a military spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad.

"But that's definitely a decision between Russia and Turkey, and the coalition was not involved with that," he added.

"What we want is a political solution that will save lives, is what we're really looking at," the Washington Examiner cited Ryan as saying.

The agreement to create a buffer zone in Syria's Idlib was worked out Monday in a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held in Sochi, Russia.